Running Blind
by Shade Penn
Summary: Sequel to I'm Still Here. After taking a detour from her destination to Britain, Allie finds not only the answer to how she came to be, but the name of her killer.
1. Chapter 1

Though she tried not to think about it, Allie realized something else was severely off ever since she woke up on the side of the river bend. She didn't feel exhausted after running and except for the cramps in her legs, she was sure she could run forever if she wanted to; which only served to make her depressed as that was exactly what she'd wanted to do.

Only this was not how she wanted it to happen.

And though she could nab food from passing dinners since no one could see her, she didn't need to eat much or get all that tired. Though other than heightened stamina…other…functions still seemed to work, and that was something else that made it possible for her to think she really wasn't dead.

Allie shook her head as she pinched a bagel off the passing plate from the dinner she'd stopped at from breakfast and had put her sweater on as it was getting colder as she went further north, running in nowhere anyplace special, but thought that maybe it had something to do with Arthur specifically and that she could find the answers over in Europe.

She didn't want to have to sneak too many flights, so she ran most of the way until she found a city with an airport flight to Britain.

Allie grabbed a bag from the back and kept on nabbing things from passing plates like bacon, another bagel, and biscuits so she could eat on the run. She walked over to the door and waited until someone left to go out the door and decided to walk for a little while as she didn't wanna know if she could still throw up.

The blonde looked down at the bag and wondered how no one was seeing a couple of bags floating in the air; did they turn invisible too or something? That gave her an idea, but she couldn't try it out on someone since she was incapable of touching anyone other than Marco it seemed. It just raised the question of how he was able to still see her, not that she was complaining.

Better it be just one person than _everyone_ not being able to see her.

Allie started running again and nearly tripped on the road when she felt the slipperiness of the ice starting to grace the roads. She regained her balance before sliding down the hillside when she thought it was better to run through there than risk getting hit by a car and started her running up again, backpack on her back and bag clutched firmly in her hand.

Allie wasn't used to running in a forest and usually stuck to the roads, so she had to watch her step and avoid the tree logs in her way and the occasional animal that got in her way. And though running was an arduous task, especially with the wind snapping against her face in the cold weather, when she stopped she was usually warm from the speed she was going at, even with the biting cold.

And short of hitching a ride in the back of a truck, she didn't have any options but to run.

* * *

After a long day of running, Allie found herself cold and sitting alone in the forest, chopping wood to make a fire, though it felt like a waste to use Excalibur for something as trivial as wood cutting. Just as Allie was about to make another chop from a dead log, she noticed that golden sand was streaming from the sky over a certain area and feeling curious, Allie ran to where the sand was and found it was a town.

Huh, and too think she was going to make a fire the old fashion way. Allie put the sword into her belt and it turned back into a butter knife. She watched the strands go into windows and tentatively reached out and touched the sand, miniature forms of her family appearing and she felt her breath hitch and clench her fist as she bit down on her lip.

But all too soon the sand dispersed and she watched it weave through the town and into houses. She wondered what was going on, but there was an inkling of something and she made her way over to a one-story house to peer inside to see it was a child's room and the sand form over their head into a dream.

It clicked in Allie's mind what was going on from an echo of her parent's telling her about the Sandman and other figures, and now she figured that if someone like Arthur really _had_ existed, then why not them too?

Allie watched the steaming sand for a moment longer before making her way into a garage and though it wasn't the warmest of places, it was still better than being outside and she snuggled into the hood, curling her arms around herself tightly.

Though she was unaware of the dream sand flying into the garage and floating over her head; the images of her and her parents being happily reunited bringing an unconscious smile to her face.


	2. Chapter 2

With the knowledge that legendary figures appeared to be real, Allie decided to postpone her trip to Britain and see if she could get one of _them_ to answer her questions. But try as she might, Allie was only able to see the sleeping sand and not the actual Sandman, so she crossed that idea off and thought about whom else might be easier to find.

Allie didn't want to pluck a tooth out of her mouth for the off chance it wouldn't work, so that was out, and Easter was months away. The blonde sighed and looked down at the sweater before deciding she needed a bigger coat if was going to keep traveling way up north. But first she went to the nearest dinner and started to pluck more and more food for the journey, and when she saw a stand with maps on it, she took one of those too.

Allie sprinted out of the store after a customer and tried to find anything she could stuff into her sweater, or a new coat altogether, so she didn't get too cold. She felt bad about the stealing, but what else could she do? Finding money on the streets was rare to come across, especially out on the highways she ran through. She opened up the map once she found a suitably insulating coat and layered her pants, before closing it after taking a moment to find where she was and how far the pole was.

It was still quite a long ways away, but if Allie didn't stop for anything other than maybe a small snack or two to keep from getting tired, she should have been fine.

Nodding to herself, Allie shoved the map into her bag, put on the mitts, and started running for it.

* * *

Her muscles ached faintly, but she hadn't stopped. Her stomach felt hollow, but she didn't stop. And the snow felt freezing on her skin, not to mention painful from the speed she was going, but she still hadn't stopped.

Allie only stopped to eat like she planned, and though the food had felt rock solid from the cold, she still ate them. It really made her regret not bringing anything warm to drink with her, but it'd just freeze too. She didn't understand how animals could stand the cold, she really couldn't. The snow falling around her didn't hurt her face when she wasn't running and even for a moment as she looked around at the sleek terrain of snow, she was able to feel impressed by how nice it looked.

Allie reached into her bag and took out the map, shivering in her boots as she found she was now where she was supposed to be, though _finding_ the place she wanted to was going to be a lot tougher she supposed; wasn't like it was out in the open or anything easy like that.

Allie put the map away and decided that since she was starting to feel fatigue set in and didn't want her legs to cramp too much, she had better find some shelter. She sprinted on the snow, not letting her dragging feet bother her too much as she could see a cave of some sort up ahead and once she was inside, she shook the snow off her and shivered.

She blinked her eyes as she looked around at the space, it leading even deeper into the cave. Allie walked deeper in, but only enough so she couldn't feel the wind being blown in, and when she didn't feel it anymore, Allie put her bags down and used her bag as a pillow before taking her knife out of her belt. She didn't know what might be in this cave after all, nor if it could see her or not, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

So with Excalibur firmly clasped in her hand, Allie closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

With a sullen pout, Jack walked down the tunnel after another foiled attempt to break into the workshop because of those yetis. Ah well, there was always next time after all. He'd been through this tunnel a lot, so there shouldn't have been anything to surprise him, but it came as a big shock when he found a girl sleeping on the icy ground, a sword clasp in her hand.

He peered down at the face peeking out under the golden curls and he could see a young face, so he guessed this was a child, but what would a kid be doing here? He took note of the sword and thought maybe this was just one devoted believer who came to return one of North's swords. Jack didn't bother with trying to pick her up or move her as he was pretty sure he'd go right through her and he was in no mood to be reminded of that, so he turned and hustled back into the tunnel to where those yetis had stopped him.

He didn't even get as far as before, clearly thinking he wasn't gone too and stepped into his way. He looked up at them and recognized one. "Hey Phil, there's a kid down the tunnel with a sword, did the big guy lose one?"

Phil grumbled out something and looked at him suspiciously.

"Seriously, there's a kid down in the tunnel, I'll even _show_ you." Jack replied and Phil followed him, but the other yetis didn't as they clearly thought this was just a trick he was playing to get into the workshop.

Any other time this might have given him an opportune moment to get into the workshop, that kid probably wouldn't last long, if she wasn't _already_ dead.

When they came across the girl, Phil picked her and her baggage up, that sword still firmly clutched in her hand, no matter how hard the yeti tried to pull it out of her grip. When they met up with the other yetis, Phil walked by them, but Jack wasn't allowed to go any further.

"Hey, what gives? I told you about the kid, shouldn't I be allowed to see if she's alright?" he questioned, but Phil shook his head. "Fine, see if I help you guys again."

Even though his words were meant to sound indignant, he really did hope that kid was okay.


	3. Chapter 3

Allie woke up and snuggled into something warm, but it clicked in her that she should be cold instead. She opened her eyes and found herself lying on a bed and her things were beside her, but Excalibur was still in her hand. Whoever had put her here must not have tried to take it from her then. She decided hold onto it until she knew where she was, but she felt the thrill go through her that obviously she would have had to have been _moved_ to be in here.

That meant someone could touch her, but she reserved those thoughts for later whether it was good or bad right now.

The blonde got off the bed and shouldered her bag before leaving the room and walking down the hall, taking in the walls and such with amazement. She heard something up at the corner, and peered around it and nearly dropped her sword as she stared out at the wide area, _yetis_ of all things working at tables filled with toys, and elves in red and green around the shop too.

"I actually found it?" Allie whispered to herself as she stared around the place with a renewed sense of wonder. She walked around the platform she was on, keeping one hand on the rail and the other on her sword, though she did almost drop it when she saw the workshop. The blonde kept on walking until she decided to see what else she could see.

Maybe she'd find the reindeer next?

Allie smiled to herself before quietly sprinting down the platform and walked into another room, quietly closing the door behind her and was disappointed to find that there was nothing in the room except a giant globe. "Aw, no reindeer?" she asked aloud but walked toward it to take a better look at the globe and all the lights over it. "What is this?"

The blonde's attention was drawn to the ceiling as she noticed the too bright moon in the sky. She felt that calming effect it seemed to have and stared at it like it once again had all the answers for her. "What is going on?" she whispered, but didn't expect it to be answered as she was just thinking aloud about how strange this all was.

So it surprised her when the light from the moon shined down in through the skylight and a shadow of a man appeared. She didn't know what this meant before the shadow shifted to one a girl lying in a river and then to complete the rising horror Allie was feeling the image changed one last time to a heart that wasn't beating.

Allie clutched at her chest with her free hand and stared wide-eyed at where the images had been. "I…I'm _dead?_" she whispered but received no more images. "How do I still live though?" she pressed on and remembered that the moon had been unusually bright when she'd woken up at the shoreline. "_Please_, tell me how." She said and waited, but slumped her shoulders when no images came again.

It seemed like being told she _did_ die was all she was getting from the moon, and she should be lucky to get even that.

"Great, now I'm being ignored by the only one who can give me answers." She muttered, but turned on her heel swiftly when she heard the door open and saw a large man with a white beard walk in and she stared in awe.

"Ah, there you are!" he said cordially and paid no heed to the sword in the girl's hand as he slapped her on the back, Allie nearly falling over as she snapped herself out of her awe. "And you've met Manny!"

Allie blinked, reeling internally at the fact she was _tangible_. "Manny?"

"Man in Moon!" The man said gesturing to the skylight.

Allie was about to ask who when he remembered who that was. "Oh." She said and took another glance at the moon, which now seemed to be waning away from sight. "Am…am I really at the North Pole?"

"Ya, and you are Arthur, are you not?" Santa questioned and Allie gaped.

"How…?" she asked, but the man gestured to the sword in her hand.

"That is Excalibur, and the signs have already come and went." Santa replied.

"Signs?" Allie repeated before realizing he was talking about the meteor showers and the lunar eclipse, but that just brought up the question of the Man in the Moon knew who _she_ was if he didn't see the signs. Heck, no one even knew that she was Arthur until she took a hold of that toy sword. "How do you know about the prophecy?"

"Everyone knows." Santa replied like it was obvious.

"Everyone?" Allie repeated and felt her chest constrict. "Well, if I were to tell you a sort of description, could you maybe help me with something? It's about the one who killed me," she cringed at saying that phrase, "I think he might have tried to stop this prophecy before I did anything."

Santa nodded, though he did wince when she said that she had been killed. "Go on."

Allie bit her lip momentarily as she recalled what had happened up until her death. "Well, it started with hearing a voice in my dreams; I never saw him, and he only taunted me with these horrible nightmares with me almost dying in them, twice before he actually killed me himself by showing me the visions of the people I care about trying to kill me." She gulped inaudibly as she continued. "He knew who I was, Arthur that is as he never called me Allie, and I _think_ I might have seen him but I can't be sure. I know for a fact that while he was holding my head down in the water I did try to claw his arms off." She said and looked at her nails and gestured to the skylight. "Though the Man in the Moon did show me what he looked like or at least his  
shadow."

Santa looked thoughtfully grim. "This man, did he scare you?"

Allie paled. "Of course he did, because even though I couldn't see him, I was knew there was someone there." She said shakily. "Who is it?"

"His name…is Pitch, but you refer to him as the Bogeyman."


	4. Chapter 4

Allie had been expecting a lot of things to be said, mostly about who she thought had killed her, but she had not been expecting _this_. Her face twisted into a grimace. "I don't believe this. I know I said I knew something was after me, and I was scared of out of my mind, but are you seriously saying that I was killed by the-" she froze and suspiciously looked around. "What if he's here? He was in my house and managed to keep up with me somehow."

"You need not worry." Santa assured her. "He cannot get in here."

Allie still nervously looked about. "He went to all that trouble to kill me, what if he finds out he didn't get the job done?" she knew she wasn't being entirely accurate as he _had_ killed her, she just came back somehow.

"You are child," Santa said and gestured to the globe, more specifically to the light shining at the pole of it, "and we Guardians protect the children of the world."

Allie looked at the light, her more caustic thoughts wanting to deny that she was a child, and the darker part wanted to ask why she had died in the first place then, but she kept these thoughts to herself. Santa said they all knew about the prophecy, but no one seemed to have known _who_ Arthur was going to be if the fact Santa was only able to recognize her by the sword in her hands.

It also spoke volumes about the lengths Pitch must have gone to _find_ her in the first place.

"What is this globe anyway?" Allie asked instead of her voicing her more rude thoughts.

"This is every child who believes." Santa explained and Allie remembered when she started believing as her parents never dissuaded her like other parents did.

This also raised another burning question. "When I woke up, I went home and my parents walked right through me like I didn't exist: why?"

"They…they don't believe in you." Santa said as though he expected her to either break down or fly into a rage. "They don't believe in Arthur."

Allie didn't do either as she processed this. She knew her parents had been disappointed that Will wasn't Arthur, and she hadn't exactly been waiting with bated breath to tell them she was; had they really stopped believing? The fact they walked through her spoke for itself. But… "Marco could see me, he could touch me." She said in realization. "He believed in Arthur for a while, and he said he'd always believe in me, even when I didn't turn out to be who he expected."

"That is good!" Santa said jovially. "Believers make you strong and Pitch would not dare attack you here."

Allie froze. "I thought you said he couldn't get in here?" she asked nervously and remembered the slap on the back. "If we can come in contact with each other, then he can still hurt me."

"You are immortal, he cannot kill you." Santa said in way that was meant to be reassuring, but Allie just got more nervous.

He might not be able to kill her now, but he could still _hurt_ her if he ever found her again. He did once after all.

"I don't want to impose." Allie said tentatively. "I just wanted some answers about how I'm alive and what happened to me, so I thank you for your help, but I should be on my way."

"Nonsense!" Santa retorted.

"No, I really mean it. Christmas is like only two months away, you must be really busy." Allie replied. "And…I really do need to get to Britain, there I'm hoping to find out more and maybe find more people who believe in me," she slumped her shoulders, "I mean Arthur; 'cause they're just gonna think of him. That's all anybody is ever gonna see, him, not me." She muttered.

She really hated this, being all depressed about the inevitable reactions.

"But you _are_ Arthur, are you not? If they believe in Arthur, they believe in _you_." Santa replied.

Allie wished things could really be that easy to explain, or maybe they were and she was just complicating things. Either way though… "I hope people are able to see that I'm not going to be exactly like him, that I'm still a different person than he was." She said.

Santa looked thoughtful. "Hmm, you make good point." He said and saluted her. "Then I wish you much luck, your highness."

Allie flushed, still not being used to anyone calling her that. "It's still weird to hear someone say that." She muttered and smiled. "But thank you, for your help and your hospitality." She said and looked around sheepishly. "Er, which way is the exit?"


End file.
